Couch-truck.



No. 801,051. PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

I. E. SMITH.

COUCH TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED APlL-l. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1..

witnesses PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

I. E. SMITH.

COUCH TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED APRA, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m g )L WWI/f; 2525M IRA E. SMITH, OF DERUYTER, NEW YORK.

COUCH-TRUCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1BU5.

Application filed April 4, 1905. Serial No. 253,887.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Deruyter. in the county of Madison and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Couch-Trucks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to couchtrucks, so called, being adjustable devices provided with rollers or wheels which may be attached to a headed-up couch or other article of furniture in a furniture-store, placed so as to save floor-space, and adapted to be rolled or wheeled about from place to place in a storeroom for the purpose of exhibiting the same to would-be purchasers or for other reasons and to be easily detached again for uses on other couches or articles.

It is the object of the invention to provide a couch-truck which will be fully adapted to the specific uses for which it is designed and which may by slight, if any, changes be converted to other cognate uses, subserving varied and extensive purposes, economizing space, and enabling a single person to move about and exhibit much furniture where heretofore considerably more help has been required to perform the same work.

The invention may be embodied in different forms of means and be modified in many ways; but the means herein shown will subserve well as a device in which the improvements may be advantageously incorporated.

The drawings hereto annexed form a part of this specification and, taken with the letters of reference marked thereon, are to be understood as such, the same letters designating the same parts or features wherever they occur.

Of the said drawings, Figure 1 represents the couch-truck in perspective and complete, one attaching-hook, however, being detached to show its style or form. Fig. 2 shows the truck attached to the head of the couch in upended position ready for wheeling about, a part of the couch being represented as broken away the better to show the truck. Fig. 3 represents the under side of the couch with the truck attached thereto, substantially as is represented in Fig. 2. Fig. 4C is a side elevation of a couch with the truck connected with the head thereof, the truck being slightly modified in form. Fig. 5 shows the truck represented in Fig. a folded for shipping. Fig. 6 is a view of one of the hooks for attaching the head of a couch to the truck detached.

' In the drawings, a designates the truck or base beams provided on their bottoms with rollers b of suitable size to permit the truck to be readily rolled around on them. Upon the upper side of the truck-beams at a suitable point are hinged the lower-ends of the standards 0one standard upon each beam. The standards are slotted longitudinally, as at (Z, for the reception of the shanks e of the hooks f, so that through suitable means, such as a thumb-screw g and another fixing-screw h, the hook can be adjusted at desired place or position on the standard.

The hinges connecting the standards with the base-beams, may be of desired form and strength and be so connected that the standards may be folded out at right angles to the base-beams. At the upper ends of the stand ards there may be adjustably connected the ends of a cross-bar j, as shown in Fig. 3; but in some instances this cross-bar may be dispensed with as being both not needed and in the way. In other instances the cross-bar subserves the useful purposes of stiffening the frame and strengthening the structure.

At the bottom the base-beams are connected by the cross-bars 7s, adjustably connected at their ends to the base-beams a to render the standards adjustable with respect to their nearness to each other, thus suiting the truck to any width of couch or other articles of furniture.

Many little attachments or parts may be applied that are not shown-such as screw-eyes, rings, &c., to take hold of at first to lift by and hooks and eyes to lock and keep together parts after they are closed-but these form no part of the invention. Hence they are not shown nor described in detail. A couch A may, for instance, bein upside-down position in the store-room, as represented in Fig. 3, and the salesman wishing to show it applies the truck to the head thereof by placing the cross -bars across the ends, adjusting the shanks e of the hooks f in position in the upright standards 0, and engaging the said hooks f with suitable parts at opposite sides of the couchas, for example, the side bars or crossslats. Then spreading and aflixing the crossbars j is in place the couch may be up-ended to position, as shown in Fig. 2, in which posi tion it may be rolled about from place to place and be turned down to right-side-up position, as shown in Fig. 4:, or to any other position wanted. hen in the position indicated in Fig. 4:, the casters of the furniture will of course be relied upon to roll it about.

As is represented in Fig. 5, the .invention may be made of few parts and be so inexpensive in structure that many trucks may be employed in a single establishment and one applied to each couch ready and kept ready for exhibition until it is sold. By this means floor-space can be saved and many conveniences subserved, all of which will occur to a merchantman without further suggestion. The illustration given in Fig. 5 indicates the compactness in which the invention may be folded and stored. It also indicates with the other figures how readily itmay be applied to other articles than couches.

It is proposed to take advantage of everything known in the art to keep the price down, the weight as little as possible. and the con- Venience of handling at the maximum.

The construction and arrangement of parts is such as to keep and maintain the weight and strain on the truck and its casters and not on the furniture and its casters.

I claim 1. In a couch-truck, the truck-beams provided with rollers or casters combined with the uprights hinged thereto, cross-bars adj ustably connected with the truck-beams, and means connected with the uprights for attaching the couch to the truck.

2. In a truck, the combination with the truck-beams provided with rollers, of uprights hinged at their lower ends to the truck-beams and slotted at substantially their middle, attaching-hooks having serew-threaded shanks passed through said slots and adjustable therein, and nuts on said screw-threaded shanks to secure the hooks in place and hold the couch or other article in connected position with the truck.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IRA E. SMITH.

Witnesses:

H. R. Roo'r, E. S. N nwrrr. 

